3 charged with murder to face November trialThree men charged with the murder of a Havana man in March have had their trial set for Nov. 17 in Yell County Circuit Court. According to the office of Tom Tatum, 15th Judicial District prosecuting attorney, Michael Douglas Gargis, 28, of Danville, Sean Mathis Tyra, 23, of Havana, and Robert Michael McCowan, 19, of Russellville were given a pretrial date of Nov. 3 and jury trial date of Nov. 17. Circuit Judge Jerry Don Ramey continued their c...

Man jailed in child rapeMarshall H. Roa, 18, was arrested for rape of a 5-year old boy after the Russellville Police Department received a report of a sexual assault on June 27, 2016. According to a report provided by the police department, the victim described to investigators the assault in explicit terms and said it happened many times. Roa's bond was set at $500,000 by District Judge Don Bourne on Wednesday inside the Pope County Detention Center.

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Courier staff reportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Authorities say man punched pregnant womanJeremy K. Vandergrift, 33, is facing second degree domestic battery charges after allegedly punching a pregnant woman in the stomach repeatedly. Vandergrift was arrested on Saturday after officers responded to a physical disturbance at approximately 9:39 p.m. near the 700 block of East 'N' Street. According to a report provided by the Russellville Police Department (RPD), officers arrived to find a white female and white male in the yard. The ...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

AG names '16 officers of the yearNORTH LITTLE ROCK -- Three Arkansas River Valley law enforcement officers were honored by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge during the 2016 Arkansas Law Enforcement Summit awards recognition luncheon at Camp Robinson on Wednesday. Russellville Police Det. Quinn Jones received the Pope County Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award. Yell County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Capt. John Foster Jr. received the Yell County Law Enforcement Of...

Trial date scheduled for WardsDANVILLE -- Special Judge Brad Karren set a trial date Monday in Yell County Circuit Court for Dec. 15 and another pretrial date for Dec. 5 in the case of the former director and secretary of Yell County EMS. Tom Tatum II, prosecuting attorney for the 15th Judicial District, said Tuesday a second pretrial hearing has been scheduled for a half a day on Dec. 5. He expected several motions to be filed, including the possibility of a change of ven...

Pretrial hearing for Wards set for MondayDANVILLE — The former director and secretary of Yell County EMS will appear Monday in Yell County Circuit Court in front of Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Kerren for a pretrial hearing. Kerren was appointed as a special judge to the case of Sidney and Donna Ward by Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Howard Brill in July. The Arkansas Supreme Court appoint the circuit judge from Benton County after all three of the 15th Judicial District judges —...

Bond hearingsThe following individual appeared in felony bond hearings on Monday. His name, age, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. He will appear in Pope County Cicuit Court at a later date. â ˘ Steven D. Payne, 34, failure to appear -- $200,000.

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Man arrested after fight over necklaceJames E. Reid, 26, is facing domestic battery charges after allegedly punching and choking a woman over a necklace. Reid was arrested on Saturday after officers responded to a residence in the area of the 17,000 block of U.S. Highway 64 in reference to a physical disturbance with injury. Dispatch advised the suspect had left the scene and was headed toward Blackwell. According to a police report provided by the Pope County Sheriff's Office (PC...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Shooting victim dies, charges elevated to murderJeff C. Ross, 48, discovered his wife, the woman he allegedly shot in the day before, died at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center around 30 minutes before appearing in felony bond hearings. Ross stared at the floor and did not speak during the duration of his hearing. Ross was arrested on Thursday after Russellville police officers responded in reference to a shooting at approximately 3:15 p.m. When officers arrived on scene they found a fema...

No bond set for Barefield in double homicide Pope County Sheriff Investigator Eric Riggs testified during felony bond hearings that Tyler J. Barefield, 35, could clearly be seen on security footage at U-Pull-It Auto Salvage, where two bodies were found crushed inside a vehicle, wielding an AR-15 rifle. Barefield, who is one of three co-owners of the salvage yard, was arrested on Thursday for the murders of two Yell County men, Aaron Brock, 22, and Beau Dewitt, 22. The bodies were discove...

Shooting in Russellville ends in arrestRussellville Police officers responded to the 800 block of West 3rd Place at approximately 3:15 p.m. Thursday in reference to a shooting. Officers arrived on scene and found a female victim with a gunshot wound. Pope County EMS transported the female victim to Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center. The female victim is said to be in critical condition. Officers also located and detained a possible suspect identified as Jeff Ross, 48, who was tr...

NY bombing case most high-profile since Boston bombingWASHINGTON — The federal charges portraying Manhattan bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami as a man bent on murderous destruction set the stage for the most anticipated terror prosecution since the Boston Marathon bombing. As separate cases wind through federal courts in New Jersey and New York, prosecutors are sure to reveal more about the bombings that injured 31 people and the evidence that led to Rahami's capture early Monday morning after a ...